Ep. 439: Suggest the Default Option, Skip a Year of an Activity You Enjoy, and More Everyday Luxuries
We talk about how we can make planning easier by suggesting the default option of time and place when coordinating with other people. We also discuss the suggestion to skip a year of an enjoyable acti...
19 Juli 202332min
Little Happier: Something Brilliant Came Out of My Mouth—Something I Didn’t Know I Knew
Looking at a ‘zine made by some friends decades ago made me realize an important truth—a truth I didn’t know that I knew. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin...
17 Juli 20233min
“Bonus: Commencement Address Given by Gretchen Rubin: Five Essential Paradoxes for a Happy Life”
In this bonus episode, listen to the commencement address I gave at my daughter’s Eleanor’s high-school graduation. To help the new graduates make sense of their experiences—both what they’ve experien...
15 Juli 202318min
Ep. 438: Act Like a Teenager, Pick Up Your Food in Person, and “Ask Us Anything” About Writing
We talk about how we can boost our happiness by acting like teenagers (the good aspects of being a teenager). We also share a suggestion from a listener about how to cut down on using meal-delivery ap...
12 Juli 202333min
Little Happier: Journalist Connie Chung Influenced a Generation—Without Realizing It
In the New York Times, Connie Wang wrote about why so many families had named their daughters “Connie”: In the journalist Connie Chung, they saw the qualities and opportunities they wanted for their o...
10 Juli 20233min
More Happier: More Strength and Stamina, a New Metaphor for “Empty Nest,” and an Easy Way to Keep a Journal
We talk about why and how we’re redoubling our efforts to work on our strength and stamina. We also try to figure out a better metaphor for the “empty nest,” and talk about a fun, easy way to keep a j...
8 Juli 202322min
Ep. 437: To Make a Good Connection, Talk More; Learn the Lesson of the Enron Corpus; and a Collection of Positive Trends
We talk about the fact that despite the widespread “reticence bias,” research suggests that we appear more likeable and interesting to a stranger when we talk more than half the time. We also discuss ...
5 Juli 202329min
Little Happier: The IKEA Effect, or How We Value Things According to What They Cost Us
As IKEA, instant cake mixes, and meal-kit delivery services demonstrate, we often value things according to how much they cost us—whether that’s in time, money, energy, or imagination. Get in touch: p...
3 Juli 20234min
